Molina, the greatest defensive catcher of his era, is in the twilight of his career. Who's next to claim the mantle? The answer could be sitting on a major league bench awaiting his chance.

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Two Houston Astros-based storylines seem to have taken hold during the month of June, with only about a week separating their apparent apogee and nadir. After an 11-game winning streak that saw the Astros standing at 42-16 two Mondays ago, people were ready to put a fork into the AL West race. Then Houston suddenly started losing, dropping seven of its next 10 games as Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers Jr. and Charlie Morton landed on the disabled list. And just like that, the sky was falling.

But Houston hasn't panicked, nor does it seem likely the front office will, and the Astros remain the AL team to beat. Starting off 42-16 is something only very good teams manage to do. Playing .724 ball for more than a third of a season isn't something you can do by fluke or luck of the Pythagorean variety. Only 37 teams in baseball have done as well over their first 58 games, and only five failed to win their league or division. Three of these occasions came from baseball's infancy, from the inconsistent-quality leagues from the 1870s and 1880s. But even with those teams in the mix, the 37 teams combined to finish the season with a .695 winning percentage.

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